Developments in Drafting at Ring Frame

N.Balasubramanian
Retd. Jt. Director (BTRA) & Consultant*
Among the various components of ring frame, drafting has the maximum influence on yarn
quality and ring performance. Drafting at ring frame considerably influences not only evenness
and appearance of fabric, rejections due to yarn faults. Therefore conversion of drafting is given
a high priority in the efforts to upgrade a ring frame and payback from such investments is
attractive.

Irregularity in drafting
Irregularity added in drafting is mainly caused by:
1. Inadequate control over the movement of short and floating fibers.
2. Slippage of strand and fibers under the drafting rollers.
3. Variations in speed of drafting rollers.
4. Mechanical faults
Development in drafting has to be focused mainly on reducing the contribution from these
factors.

Casablanca drafting
Casablanca A500 drafting represents the first development to improve the control over floating
fibers. Prior to that, a self-weighted light middle top roller was used to control short fibers while
allowing long fibers to slip underneath. Even now some woolen ring frames employing this
principle are found in operation in the mills. In Casablanca drafting a pair of endless aprons,
driven by middle top and bottom roller and held together by a tensor, is used to control the
floating fibers in the front zone. The back zone is merely a break draft zone with low drafts. The
back top roller is self weighted while middle and front top rollers are weighted by a spring,
encased in a cage, through a saddle.
The main drawbacks of this system are:
1. Being self-weighted, the back top roller is subjected to slippage. This is a source of count
variation at ring frame(Table 1).

2. Because of bigger diameter if back top roller, the back zone setting is 55 mm, which is too
wide for short staple cottons.

3. The pressures on the front and middle top rollers, which are already low, are further affected
by ageing of spring over a period of time.
4. Top rollers are guided by cap bar nebs at the end. Misalignment of roller often occurs because
of grooving of cap bar nebs and disturbance in cap bar settings.
5. Plain bearings are used for top rollers, which need frequent lubrication. The lubrication used to
attract fluff.
Even so, the quality of yarn obtained on A500 drafting can be improved by optimizing the apron
spacing, break draft and roving twist1. The pressure on top rollers could be increased by insertion
of addition washers inside the spring cap and by minimizing disturbances in auto lever setting.
The intermittent slippage of strand under the self-weighted back top roller has been a source of
count variability in the yarn as shown by the following study.
Intermediate roving and corresponding yarns spun from them were collected from 10 spindles of
ring frames with A500 from two mills and count variability in both materials was determined. A
wrapping length of 7 yards was used for roving as this corresponds with 120 yards of yarn after
drafting. The results of these studies, shown in Table 1, indicate a significant increase in count
variability within as well as between bobbins is increased after drafting. This means the top roller
slippage varies from time and time within a spindle because of variations in drafting force in
break draft zone.
Table 1
Increase in variability of count in A500 drafting
CV% of Roving
Mixing

Between

CV% of Yarn

Within

Overall

Between

Within

Overall

28s

3.6

3.2

4.8

6.2

3.4

7.0

30s

3.2

1.1

3.3

6.5

3.9

7.6

1 Block I, Rajeswari, 36, 17th Road, Chembur, Mumbai 400071 9869716298

Top arm drafting

Top arm drafting represents a major breakthrough in improving the quality and performance of
drafting. Most of the problems encountered with Casablanca drafting are overcome in top arm
drafting by adopting pendulum system of central arbor guidance. Center suspension of top rollers
ensures self-alignment of top roller to a position axially parallel to bottom roller. Further, an
apron guide bar or nose bar is used to guide the bottom apron. The nose bar provides firm
guidance to the bottom apron and the strand over it and further brings down the distance between
apron release point and the front roller nip. As a result, the fiber control is improved.
The advantages of top arm are:
1. Self-alignment of top roller in relation to bottom roller results in better grip over fibers.
2. Heavier weighting by the use of better grade springs reduces slippage. The spring pressure is
also nearly constant over a long period of working.
3. Higher drafts are achievable because of better control over fibers.
4. Cleaning of draft zone and removal of roller lapping is facilitated because of easy access to
parts as top arm together with top rollers can be lifted up.
About 1-1.5% units better U% and 15-20 % reduction imperfections are obtained by conversion
to top arm drafting. Further CV of count of yarn is reduced significantly as shown in Table 2.
The improvement arises because of reduction in slippage of back top rollers because of heavier
weighting.
Table 2
Reduction of CV of Count and Strength from Top arm drafting
Mixing

30s

28s

Drafting System

CV of Count%
Between

Within

Overall

A600

4.0

3.3

5.2

Top Arm

3.8

2.0

4.3

A600

4.6

3.0

5.5

Top Arm

3.1

3.2

4.5

In SRK drafting, coiled springs are used and in Suessen WST drafting, chrome vanadium
hardened steel plate springs are used foe weighting. In Reiter and Laxmi Rieter drafting, top
rollers are pneumatically loaded by compressed air. Top rollers are individually weighted in SKF
while in the first generation WST UT3 drafting, the pressure from plate spring is transmitted to
top rollers by means of a weigh-bridge. In Laxmi Reiter drafting also a weigh-bridge is used to
load top rollers. Individual weighting is more advantageous compared to distribution of weights
by weigh bridge as any defects or diameter variations in any top roller do not affect weighting on
other top roller.

Second generation top arm

Though several developments have taken place in top arm drafting over the years, broadly they
can be divided as first and second generation top arms. The major improvements in secondgeneration top arm are:
Higher pressure on top roller.
Provision for varying the pressure on the top roller as per the requirement.
Modified top arm support bar.
High stability cradle.
Top roller pressures, found in first and second generation top arms are given in Table 3.
Table 3
Top Roller pressure in 1st and 2nd generation Top Arms(Kp)
Position

SKF

Suessen WST

1st Generation

2nd Generation

1st Generation

2nd Generation

PK211E

PK225

WST

UT 600

Front

10

10-14-18

13

12 22

Middle

10

6 16

Back

14

13

12 22

The roller settings in top arm drafting for cotton, 38-mm staple fiber and blends are given in
Table 4 and Figure 1. Front top roller offset forward by 2-3 mm while middle top roller is offset
backward by 2 mm. Offsetting of front top roller forward is done to ensure better flow of twist to
front roller nip while offsetting of middle top roller backward is done to ensure firm guidance of
bottom apron on nose bar. Normally back bottom roller setting is kept as 50 mm for cotton and
around 55 mm for polyester/cotton blends. However the minimum bottom roller setting in the
latest P3-1 arm of Reiter is 60 mm.

Fig 1 Settings in SKF top arm drafting

Table 4
Roller Settings in Top arm Drafting
SKF and Suessen

Reiter and Laxmi Reiter

Front

Back

Front

Back

Bottom Roller
Setting

43 44

40 60

42.5 43

50 65

Top Roller
Setting

48 49

38- 58

50 50.5

49.5 64.5

Top arm support bar

Top arm support bar with a cross section of D shape instead of circular, found in first
generation, is used in UT600 to minimize disturbances in height of top arm. The top arm clamp
bracket has a profile identical to the support bar and is securely fitted on it at the flat portion.
This obviates slippage of top arm clamp around the support bar. In SKF PK225, top arm support
bar has two groves, in one of which arm is securely locked by a screw and in another setting the

height of the arm is done by another screw and in another setting the height of the arm is done by
another screw. This minimizes disturbance to height setting because of slippage of top arm
around support bar.
High stability cradle
High stability cradle is another improvement in UT 600 top arm. The weighting pressure from
retainer spring acts directly on the cradle and from there the middle top roller. This eliminates the
yarn defects caused by lifting of front edge of cradle due to defective cradle spring; a defect
sometimes encountered in other drafting systems.
Pressure Setting
Setting of pressure to the desired level is done by means of height gauge as shown in Fig 2. To
minimize subjective errors in height setting, pointer gauge is used in suessen drafting. Pressure
checking with the help of top roller pressure checking device which has a dial gauge in it is the
best way to minimize variations in pressure. In SKF PK 225, there is a provision for adjusting
pressure in front top roller to three different levels by means of a cam that is adjusted by a
wrench.

Improvements from second generation top arm

Conversion to second generation generally improves U%, imperfections and Classimat faults in
the yarn. The order of improvement varies with the mixing and age of top arm and is generally
more prominent with polyester blends. Further winding breaks due to slubs and weak places,
comes down. The results of studies carried in this regard in the mills are given in Table 5.
Table 5
Improvements from 2nd generation of Top Arm
20s
PK211E

100s
PK 225

PK 211E

58s pv
PK 225

PK 211E

PK 225

CSP

2410

2428

2508

2594

3282

3277

U%

13.3

12.4

14.6

13.4

14.2

13.5

Thin -50%

67

20

225

111

50

45

Thick +3

454

245

395

238

285

180

Neps +3

253

207

65

72

115

130

CV of Count
%

2.67

2.14

4.49

2.25

4.16

3.07

CV of
Strength %

5.32

6.06

7.5

5.57

7.16

6.67

Imperfection
s per km

Table 5 shows that improvements in evenness and imperfections are seen in cotton as well as
polyester blend counts with second generation top arms. In fine cotton counts and polyester
viscose blend counts, CV of count of yarn also shows a significant reduction with second
generation top arm. This is because of the heavier pressure on the back top roller. This
hypothesis is further confirmed by the fact that a lower mechanical draft has to be kept at ring
frame with PK225 drafting compared to PK211 E drafting to get the same count of yarn from the
same back material. The mechanical draft in 58 s has to be reduced from 36.5 to 32.6 with
PK225.
Table 6 shows that Classimat faults are also reduced with PK 225 drafting because of heavier
pressure on top rollers and improved control over fibers. It is interesting to note that the
reduction is obtained even in short length faults with PK 225. This means belief, short length
faults are also influenced by drafting.
Table 6
Reduction in Classimatfaults from second generation Top Arm, 58s p/v

A1

SkFPK211E

SKF PK 225

1872

1561

A2

472

406

A3

96

72

A4

16

13

B1

198

174

B2

142

126

B3

72

60

B4

26

22

C1`

59

48

C2

49

40

C3

31

26

C4

17

12

D1

20

13

D2

12

D3

D4

Age of top arm

A significant deterioration in yarn quality is also found to take place with wear and tear of parts
and ageing of springs even in top arms. While part of the deterioration may be due to wear and
tear of cots and aprons, remaining part is due to wear and tear of springs, saddles and other
weighting elements of top arms. Top arms which are about 4 years old are found to give 1 unit
higher U% and about 20% higher long thin and thick faults compared to new top arms of the
same type.
Latest top arms
P3-1 top arm represents the latest top arm of Rieter and Laxmi Rieter used in g5/series of ring
frames. The bottom and top rollers have bigger diameter and front roller top roller has a higher

offset of 4mm. Cradle length is longer and as result the distance of uncontrolled fiber movement
is reduced. To minimize torsion vibration of back rollers, the drafting system has a separate drive
operated by its own motor in Rieter G30 ring frame. The 1008 spindle machine is divided into
two modules, each of which is driven by its own motor for the same purpose.
In HP drafting, which is the latest version of suessen drafting, the weighting is effected by a
spring plate, which distributes 75% of load to the middle top roller and balance 25% on front top
roller. An anti friction clip of synthetic material fitted on cradle brings top apron nip close to
front roller nip. Pressure release systems are provided to bring down pressure to 10-20% of the
full load when frame is stopped for long duration of time.
Measuring top arm pressure

Sun Tarp Guage is an unique, compact & portable instrument for measuring Top Arm Roller
Pressure in ring frames The instrument measures the spring force is spring loaded drafting
system & pneumatic pressure in case of pneumatic drafting system used in ring & speed frames.
The spring force or pneumatic pressure is however expressed in terms of kgf.
In order to achieve optimum productivity & yarn quality from ring & speed frames, the top
rollers are loaded at specified levels and thus uniformity between top arms on the same frame is
maintained. In the case of continuous working, however, variations occur from the set loads,
which affect the quality of drafted material. Frequent methodical check up of top roller loads, is
therefore, necessary and the sun tarp guage enables the same to be done easily & directly on
front, middle & back rollers in all types of drafting systems used in ring
Individual weighting and Weigh bridge
In SKF and UT 600 top arms, the three lines of top rollers are individually weighted. But in
Rieter and Laxmi Rieter drafting, pressures on the top rollers are distributed through a weighbridge. Fulcrum position has to be varied depending upon roller setting and type of cradles. One
disadvantage of this system is that any defect in one of the top rollers will affect weighting on the
other top rollers.
Top rollers
Originally top roller were of detachable type being made of two components, viz.;
1. Bearing unit
2. Top roller boss
The boss can be removed from the bearing unit to facilitate greasing. The boss is retained on the
bearing by means of a snap ring. With such a design play was found to develop between the units
after years of usage leading to irregularities. To overcome this non-detachable type of top roller
were developed. The inner wall of the top roller shell forms the outer race of the bearing in this
design as shown in the figure 3. Hence the inner wall has to be precision ground, thereby
ensuring accurate movement of top roller even after years of usage. Double row of bearing is

used to minimize the play further. To minimize bending of top roller, a saddle collar is introduced
instead of recessed top roller in the middle.

Fig 3 :
Cots
Hardness, diameter and width are important characteristics of cots influencing irregularities,
softer cots on front roller, with a shore hardness of 65o, brings down the U and thick and thin
places in yarn significantly in cotton counts. The improvement arises from the improved grip
over the strand because of the extended contact at the nip. As a result, slippage of fibers under
the nip is reduced. The reduction in imperfections varies with the mixing and ranges from 2030%. Softer cots are however more susceptible to wear and tear and roller lapping and are
therefore not preferred for polyester blends. Bigger cots diameter up to 30-mm diameter brings
down slubs, crackers ad other Classimat faults particularly with polyester blends. Roller lapping
is also reduced with bigger diameter. Lower cots width up to 25 mm improves pressure over the
nip and so contributes to better drafting.

Step nose bar

Nose bar with a step or depression in the height for a portion of the width at the front side
improves the control over short fibers, as shown in the figure 4. The improvement arises from the
curved path the strand takes while passing over the nose bar. Extent of improvement varies with
the amount of depth, and there is an optimum depth at which improvements are maximized.
The optimum depth value varies with the mixing and is between 1.2-2.4. About 20-30 reduction
in thick and thin places in the yarn is found with step nose bar. Conversion of plain bar to step
nose bar can be done by milling the front portion to a desired height and polishing and plating it.
This calls for much less investment than a new step nose bar. By introducing soft cots and step
nose bars, about 30-50% reduction in imperfections is obtained as shown in Table 7.

Fig 4

Offset drafting

Offset drafting by INA represents another development for improving yarn quality. The back
bottom roller is raised by a height of 13.5 mm and back top roller is offset backwards by 24 mm
so that the nip point is taken back by 15 mm around the circumference of bottom roller as shown
in figure 5. The incoming roving therefore wraps round the circumference of bottom roller over a
considerable length before it leaves it.

Fig 5 :
Further, back zone bottom roller setting is reduced from 51 to 44 mm. As a result of these actions
the strand takes a V-shaped path as twist in roving is broken down. The strand width is reduced
leading to improved inter fiber friction in the main drafting zone. For a 1.25 Ne roving, the
strand width is reduced from 2.5 to 1.45 mm. Detailed studies show that thick and thin places
and U% of yarn are significantly reduced in cotton counts with offset drafting. The
improvements are more prominent in carded counts from short staple cottons and at high ring
frame drafts. Mill experience also confirms the improvements. It is unfortunate therefore that
there is no manufacturer offering offset drafting at present.

Modified cradle for short staple cottons

The top arm drafting systems currently available do not permit front roller settings below 43 mm.
While processing short staple cottons of 23 mm and below staple lengths, this setting is too wide
and increases the irregularities. A modified cradle was developed with reduced cradle length.
This is in conjunction with a shorter wide nose bar enabled the front bottom roller setting to be
reduced to 40 mm. About 30% reduction in thick and thin places and 0.8 units lower U% in yarn
were obtained with this modification for short staple cottons. Alternately higher ring frame drafts
could be achieved with the same level of imperfections in yarn.

Ring can spinning

Ring can is a sliver to yarn spinning machine by Suessen, suitable for counts up to 30 40. Total
drafts achievable in this system are around 180-200. Positively driven aprons guide the silver
from the can in the creel to the back pair of rollers as to minimise stretch. The machine is
equipped with Suessen HP drafting. Break drafts are higher up to 3 with lower back zone setting.
Higher loads are kept on second and third top roller. Three drawing passages are given in carded
mixings to ensure favorable presentation of major hooks to ring frame.

Though the machine occupies more space, additional space requirement is offset by the omission
of speed frame. As roving frame is omitted the stretch introduced at this stage is avoided.
However, contradictory results are reported in regard to quality of yarn in ring can as compared
to conventional spinning.
Further, mill experience indicates the need for some more improvements in ring can especially in
the sliver transporting system and drafting system.
Compact spinning
In the traditional ring spinning, fibers in the selvedge of strand emerging from front roller nip do
not get fully integrated into the yarn because of the restriction to twist flow by the spinning
triangle. These fibers show up partly as protruding hairs or as wild fibers. The spinning triangle
is because of higher width of the strand as compared to final yarn diameter.
Further the fibers are tensioned to varying extent depending upon their position in the spinning
triangle. This results in non-simultaneity in the occurrence of breaks in fibers, as the yarn is
broken. As a result full realization of fiber strength is not achieved in the yarn. The hairiness is a
source of weft bars and warp way streaks in the fabric. Long protruding hairs from the yarn
contribute to multiple breaks in weaving and fabric faults like stitches and floats.
In compact spinning, spinning triangle is eliminated by incorporating a condensing zone after
main drafting zone, thereby overcoming the drawbacks of conventional spinning. This will be
clear from a comparison of mode of yarn formation in two systems as shown in figure 6. The
condensing zone has a revolving perforated apron with suction underneath. The fibers collected
on the perforated track of the apron and get condensed. A low-tension draft is kept in the
condensing zone to assist in the condensation. Compact spinning systems are offered by Rieter,
Suessen and ITV-Zinser. Slight variations in the design of condensing zone are found in the three
systems, but the final effect is to get the strand reduced substantially in width.

Fig 6 :
In Rieter Comforspin, a perforated drum replaces front bottom roller of drafting system. A
second top roller also presses on the drum. There is a suction system generating vacuum udder
the drum. Condensing of strand takes place between the two top rollers under the perforated
drum non rotating insert inside the drum with a specially shaped slots helps in achieving
condensation. In the Elite system of Suessen, condensing zone consist of a profile tube with a

perforated lattice apron running over it. A delivery top roller press on the apron drives the apron.
A suction system under the profile tube causes condensation of the strand.
In ITV-Zinser system, illustrated in figure 7, condensing zone consists of a revolving perforated
apron. The size of perforation in the apron is varied as per the count of the yarn to get the desired
condensation.

Fig 7 :
Compact spinning offers the following benefits: 1. 15-20% reduction in hairiness of yarn, the reduction being more pronounced in long length
hairs.
2. 10-15% improvement in yarn tenacity. Further, the strength of the weakest element is
considerably improved leading to fewer end breaks in subsequent stages.
3. Twist can be reduced by 10% while maintaining same yarn strength.
4. Significantly better evenness of diameter and hairiness.
5. Significantly better abrasion and resistance because of absence of long protruding hairs. As a
result end breaks and droppings in loom shed and linting in knitting are reduced.
6. Size percentage can be reduced by 30-50%
7. Singeing can be omitted
8. Lower twist can be employed in doubling.
9. Improved appearance and lustre of fabric with a softer handle, reduced pilling and better dye
uptake.
Referenes
1.N.Balasubramanian, G.K.Trivedi and B.N. Bhanot, Getting the best from A500 and A600
drafting

2. G.Janakiraman and N.Balasubramanian, Yarn quality improvements from second generation

top arms at ring frame, BTRA Scan, Vol XVIII, No4, 1987, p9
3. M.Balakrishnan and N. Balasubramanian, Benefits from modernization at ring frame, BTRA
Scan, XI, No 3, 1980, p4
4. N.Balasubramanian, R.Krishnaswamy and Jyotsana Sharma, Modifications to drafting system
for improvement in Yarn quality, Indian Journal of fibre and textile Research, 1995, Vol20, p169
5N.Balasubramanian, D.G. Thombre and Y.Y.Chowdhary, Improvements in yarn quality from
offset drafting at Ring frame, Indian Textile J, 1992, Aug, p28
6.sai, D.G.thombre and N.BalasubramanianImprovements in yarn quality from short staple
cottonsby modification to Top arm drafting,Indian J of Fibre and Textile Research, Vol13, 1988
June, p53
7. T.Narayanan, Can Ring can deliver the goods, Indian Textile J, 1998 Aug,p116
8. P.Artz, The special structure of compact yarns- Advantages in downstream processing, Int
Textile Bulletin, 1997, 2, p41
9. comfort Spin- A comfort that reaches downstream, Indian Textile J, 2000April,p90
10 Suessen Elite spinning for long and short staple fibres, Indian Textile J, 1999 Sept, p12